Employer didn’t check records before letting him check a pulse

A man worked as a paramedic on the Front Range for 17 months before American Medical Response (AMR) discovered he was not a certified paramedic.

Todd Teel worked for AMR, based in Greenwood Village, from July 2006 until December 2007 before the company discovered he had forged his certification papers. Teel is a certified emergency medical technician, but that credential requires minimal training compared to the two-year course paramedics must complete.

AMR discovered the forgery when Teel requested a transfer from the Denver area to the Longmont Fire Department. The company immediately placed him on leave and fired him shortly after.

AMR did not say whether Teel injured any patients or what steps the company initially took to verify his credentials. Randy Kuykendall, head of the state health department’s Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Section, said AMR should have checked Teel’s documentation against readily accessible online state and national records before hiring him.

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